The Astonished Xi Yan, It Really Exists?

"Um?"

"What am I doing...?"

Brook, who had regained consciousness while lying on the ground, felt somewhat confused.

Why was he lying on the ground?

And... who are these guys running back and forth on their pirate ship?

"How come this group of pirates is so poor?" one man said speechlessly. "Apart from some scattered Beli, I didn't find anything of value."

Could it be that this group was just robbed?

It's not impossible.

"So what if we don't have money? We don't really need it anyway." His companion shook his head and said, "Let's carry the food we found in the kitchen back first."

In places like this, food is far more important than money.

The others nodded in agreement; that made sense.

Then, the group decided to take the food they had taken from the kitchen with them.

Just then, Brook stood up from the ground, clutching his arm, and said, "It's so cold! My skin hurts from the cold."

Ah~

"Although I don't have any skin to cool down~"

"Yohohohoho~"

"Huh?"

"Eh!!"

The men in protective suits were all dumbfounded when they saw Brook stand up and speak.

"Why did the skeletal corpse stand up and speak?!"

Why?

Why?!

Why can this skeleton still stand up and talk?

Is this guy a devil?

Brook, observing everyone's reactions, smiled and then said, "By the way, have you seen where my partner went?"

When I woke up, I found that...

Before Brook could finish speaking, he saw several men in the distance raise their Flintlock at him.

"Shoot him! Take him down!"

"Bump!"

"Bump!"

"Bump!"

"Disappeared...?"

Seeing Brook suddenly disappear from the spot, the pupils of the group shrank to their smallest size.

Was what they just saw merely an illusion?

"What a hassle."

The group of people who heard the voice behind them were startled, and then planned to turn around and attack Brook.

Before they could even turn around, they felt an incredibly terrifying force acting on them.

"Nose Song Three-Strokes - Swallowtail Slash!"

"Puff!"

"Ah!!"

The people who felt the pain screamed in agony, then their Byakugan rolled back and they collapsed to the ground.

"Honestly, you insist on making me do it myself." Brook, putting away his Cane Sword, said helplessly, "Can't we just sit down and talk things over?"

He really didn't mean any harm.

Then, as if remembering something, Brook exclaimed in disbelief, "Oh no!"

"I forgot to ask them where we are!"

Brook glanced down at the unconscious men and fell silent. Would these guys ever wake up?

"Hey, you guys, come over here and take a look."

"Um?"

Hearing the sound, the group turned around and glanced at Zoro. Luffy then asked, "What's wrong?"

"Have they found the samurai and the man who was slashed?!"

After saying that, Luffy quickly ran towards Zoro's direction.

The others exchanged glances upon seeing this, and then followed suit.

"I haven't found anyone," Zoro said, gazing at the distant, snowy landscape. "But I've found something even more interesting."

"Something even more interesting..."

A hint of doubt flashed in Usopp's eyes upon hearing this. What was even more interesting?

As he was thinking, Usopp ran to Zoro's side.

Then, a look of horror appeared on his face.

"Huh?"

"Eh!!"

"Snow... snow mountain?"

Why would there be snow-capped mountains in a place filled with flames?

Has he fallen under Illusion?

Thinking of this, Usopp immediately looked at Xi Yan and asked if he had been under Illusion.

"It's not Illusion," Xi Yan said. "The other side is indeed Ice Island."

His Sharinggan that what was opposite him was indeed a real world of ice and snow.

"So it wasn't a fantasy novel after all..."

"That's not right either!"

Usopp realized what was happening, and then said in shock, "Why would there be Iceberg and snow-capped mountains in a place like this?"

Divided by a river, one side is an active volcano with extremely high temperatures, while the other side is a frigid world of ice and snow...

No, what kind of island is this anyway?!

"Now I understand why that person said it was cold," Nico Robin said, pointing to the snowy landscape across the way. "That person should be over there."

Only someone in that environment would utter the word "cold."

"So, the killer and the victim are both over there," Usopp said, gazing into the distance.

"Over there...?"

Merry, who was floating beside Xi Yan, stared carefully into the distance before saying, "I couldn't find it."

She didn't see anyone.

Upon hearing this, Usopp said somewhat helplessly, "They definitely can't see it from this far away."

This river must be at least several hundred meters long, plus the complex terrain of the snow-capped mountains...

It's perfectly normal that you can't see it!

Is that so?

Merry blinked, then turned to look at Xi Yan and said, "Did you see it?"

"Neither do I."

Xi Yan shook his head and said, "It must be blocked by the snow mountain."

There are quite a few hills over there, so it's normal that you can't see them.

This time, Merry simply nodded and said nothing more.

"This island is really interesting," Luffy grinned, "One side is a fire island, and the other side is Ice Island..."

"Hey everyone, how about we go get some shaved ice over there?"

As he spoke, Luffy's saliva began to drip from his mouth.

I really want some cool shaved ice so my body temperature can come down!

Upon hearing Luffy's words, Usopp was immediately filled with question marks.

Why does this bastard always do things his own way?

"Who would go over there, you idiot!" Usopp roared, opening his shark-like mouth. "They'd freeze to death!"

"Also, it's too far over there, let's go back to the ship first."

With that, Usopp turned to leave.

But after walking only a few steps, they found that their companions had all stopped where they were, clearly very interested in the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Usopp:???

No, stop messing around!

"Those snow-capped mountains over there do look interesting," Zoro said with a smirk. "Why don't we go take a look?"

He might just find a samurai he's really interested in!

"I agree," Xi Yan nodded.

He was also quite interested in this kind of island that was both ice and fire.

Meanwhile, Merry, drooling, said, "I want shaved ice too."

"Then let's go," Nico Robin said with a smile.

"No, why are you all like this...?" Usopp stared blankly at his companions and said, "That's Ice Island, the land of samurai!"

"That's very dangerous!"

Shouldn't we be heading back to the ship and reuniting with our companions at a time like this? Why are we going to such a dangerous place now?

You'll die!

"Don't worry, Usopp," Merry said, raising her head. "I have winter coats for everyone, so you won't freeze to death."

After saying that, Merry smiled and Luffy after Luffy, who had already run off into the distance.

"That's true, but suddenly going from a hot place to a cold place..." Usopp said with a grim expression, "Won't we really die?"

"I'm just an ordinary person..."

"Ordinary people?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Yan, who was Luffy with Zoro and the others, glanced at Usopp with a puzzled look. This guy was nothing like an ordinary person.

What ordinary person can be so resilient?

A marksman who builds tank items?

As if he had thought of something amusing, Xi Yan shook his head with a smile and then said, "Alright, stop daydreaming and hurry up and catch up."

After saying that, Xi Yan walked away with a smile.

Watching his companions' departing figures, Usopp lowered his head dejectedly and said, "Damn it, why did we have to go to a place like that..."

Although we have cotton-padded clothes, they're not a cure-all.

Besides, there are dangerous samurai over there. What if we encounter that guy?

Thinking about this made Usopp's head ache.

The future looks bleak...

Just then, Usopp 'heard' a strange sound, which sounded like some kind of bird spreading its wings.

"What's that sound?" Usopp asked, frowning.

For some reason, his intuition told him that the owner of that voice might be very dangerous!

Thinking of this, Usopp subconsciously put his hand into his backpack and then took out a few explosive pellets.

After doing this, Usopp looked around warily, searching for the source of the sound.

The next moment...

"Phew~"

The sound of wings spreading rang out again, immediately attracting Usopp's attention.

"There it is!"

Upon finding his target, Usopp immediately turned around and stared blankly at the spot.

What did he see?

A... winged monster?

Hehe~

As if noticing Usopp's gaze, Monet gave Usopp a very 'friendly' smile.

"Scare!!"

"A monster!"

Startled, Usopp sprang to his feet and ran towards Xi Yan and the others like a madman.

Upon seeing this, Monet laughed even more happily, then spread his wings and flew towards Ice Island in the distance at an extremely fast speed!

Upon hearing Usopp's voice, Zoro and the others instinctively looked behind them, clearly having heard Usopp's scream.

What's wrong with Usopp?

Looking at Usopp running towards them from a distance, Merry's eyes were filled with doubt.

Why does this feel like being chased away?

But there were no enemies behind him... What's wrong with him?

"Usopp, what are you doing...?"

Before Zoro could finish speaking, he was knocked to the ground by Usopp, who rushed over.

Zoro:???

"Hello!"

Zoro stared at Usopp in disbelief and asked, "What are you doing?"

What's the meaning behind yelling and bumping into yourself for no reason?

"A monster! A monster!" Usopp exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Zoro. "I saw a bird with wings... oh no, I mean a person with a body..."

Zoro:...

So what exactly are you trying to say?

What kind of nonsense is this—birds with wings and people with bodies?

"I saw a monster!" Usopp exclaimed excitedly, pointing in the direction he had just seen. "There was a winged birdman there!!"

"Birdman?"

Zoro, following the direction Usopp was pointing, looked puzzled and asked, "Where is it?"

What birdman?

The others also looked in the direction Usopp was pointing with puzzled expressions, but they didn't see anything strange.

"You wouldn't have made up something that doesn't exist just to avoid going to Ice Island, would you?" Xi Yan chuckled.

This is something Usopp would do.

"No, that's not it!" Usopp exclaimed excitedly. "I definitely saw a birdman!!"

That guy even grinned at him, which made his scalp tingle.

"You really saw the birdman?"

"Yes!"

Seeing that Usopp didn't seem to be lying this time, Xi Yan activated his Sharinggan and began to observe the surrounding buildings, intending to see if anyone was hiding in one of them.

But after observing for a while, they didn't see anything that resembled a birdman.

"Is it no longer around...?"

After thinking for a moment, Xi Yan turned his gaze to the sky and spotted a figure high in the air.

"There really is one..." Xi Yan said, narrowing his eyes.

"I knew it!" Usopp exclaimed excitedly.

He didn't say those things to avoid going to the islands ahead; he genuinely saw that terrifying birdman!

"The upper body is human, but the rest of the body is that of a bird..." Xi Yan frowned and said, "What is this thing?"

Devil Fruit User?

Or is it some new species?

"Where exactly is that guy you're talking about?" Zoro asked, puzzled.

"There."

Xi Yan pointed to the sky above the lake ahead and said, "Do you see that dark figure?"

"That guy is the birdman Usopp was talking about."

Zoro squinted at the thing in the distance upon hearing this, but found that he couldn't make it out at all.

After all... his eyesight isn't that good.

"It flew that far?" Nico Robin asked in surprise.

Isn't this speed a bit too fast?

As if struck by a sudden thought, Merry said, "Could this guy be in cahoots with that samurai?"

Maybe.

"Should we shoot her down?!"

As she spoke, Merry summoned Xiao Qing, which was hidden on her person, and signaled it to transform into a bow and arrow so that she could use her abilities to shoot down the birdman in the distance.

With that in mind, Merry prepared to unleash the Wind Loss.

But when she thought that such an attack might completely destroy the opponent, Merry held back some of her strength.

I just don't know if this will be enough to catch someone.

Xi Yan stared intently at the situation in the distance before shaking his head and saying, "She's already flown to the other side of the river... At this distance, a light attack won't catch her, and a heavy attack might not even leave a corpse behind. Let's forget about it."

"Let's talk about it when we get there."

Merry nodded upon hearing this, and then put Xiao Qing away.

Since Xi Yan has said so, let's let them off the hook this time.

"Let's go," Xi Yan said, glancing at Luffy was walking happily ahead. "We'll Luffy in a bit."

Usopp glanced at Luffy upon hearing this, then remarked, "This guy really has boundless energy."

It's so hot, and this guy can still run around here grinning. That's amazing.

"After all, he's Luffy," Xi Yan said.

Let alone sweating a little, even if most of the water in this guy's body were drained, he could be fully revived by drinking water!

Therefore, this environmental impact is nothing to Luffy.

"That's true..." Usopp sighed helplessly.

Luffy's physique is monstrous, so it's normal for him to have such boundless energy.

"Let's go, hurry up and catch up," Zoro said. "We'll use Merry's ability to fly over there in a bit."

"No problem," Merry said with a smile.

Shaved ice! Shaved ice!

Luffy, laughing loudly, exclaimed, "I want some cool shaved ice!"

Upon hearing Luffy's voice, Xi Yan shook his head helplessly. This guy really is like a little kid sometimes.

Just then, a voice appeared behind Luffy, raising his spiked club and striking down.

"Take this!"

"Boom!!"

Who is it?!

Luffy, having dodged the attack, looked at the dust cloud behind him with displeasure and said, "Why did you ambush me?"

"Hmph, of course I'm here to wipe you out, intruders!" the Leopard Leg Man said. "I'll do it myself..."

He froze before he could finish speaking, because he saw Luffy's legs on his back!

Luffy, who was observing the situation from there, was also stunned.

"Your... legs... are so cool!!" x2

In the end, the two of them burst into laughter.

"I was originally looking for intruders, but I almost accidentally hurt my own people..." The Leopard Leg Man scratched his head and said, "I'm so sorry."

In the end, a hint of embarrassment even appeared on the Leopard Leg Man's face; he had almost made a terrible mistake.

"Oh, I see."

Luffy smiled and nodded, then looked at the Leopard Leg Man's legs with shining eyes and said, "By the way... your legs are really cool!"

"It's alright."

The Leopard Leg Man smiled and nodded, then tilted his head to look at Kin'emon behind Luffy and said, "But your hind legs are a little strange."

Why isn't it the same color as the front legs?

Could it be that his owner deliberately made him look like this?

"Is that strange?" Luffy scratched his head and said, "I feel great."

Although his hind leg didn't hurt much, it didn't stop him from thinking he looked cool!

Just then, Kin'emon's lower body cried out, "Damn it, where am I?!"

"Huh?!"

The Leopard Leg Man was stunned for a moment upon hearing the voice, then looked at Kin'emon's lower body in shock and said, "Your lower body can actually talk?!"

"Yes!"

"This is unbelievable..." the Leopard Leg Man swallowed hard. "What kind of legs are those...?"

"That's amazing!"

This is the first time in all his life he's ever seen a talking backwards thing. It's really amazing!

"Really? Hahaha~"

"This..."

Zoro, who had come up above Luffy, looked at Luffy speechlessly and said, "How come Luffy has made friends with another weirdo?"

What on earth is this thing with the lower body of a leopard?

Usopp, who also noticed what was happening below, was dumbfounded and exclaimed, "That's... Leopard Centaur?"

Are there other creatures like this in this world?

"This is the New World!" Merry exclaimed, her eyes shining. "Amazing!"

Will they encounter even more interesting creatures next?

"Something feels off," Xi Yan said, frowning.

"What's the meaning?"

"Do you still remember whose territory this used to be?" Xi Yan said.

Of course.

Usopp glanced back in the direction they had come from and said, "Isn't the word 'World Government' clearly written on that big iron gate over there?"

"Is there any connection between them?" Zoro asked, puzzled.

"I suspect these centaur-like creatures aren't some Special Race from the New World," Xi Yan said, glancing up at the Leopard Leg Man with his arm around Luffy's shoulder. "They might be some kind of experimental product of the World Government."

"Experiment?"

Nico Robin paused for a moment, then said with a grim expression, "Human experimentation?"

If that's the case, then it's far too evil.

"That's possible."

Xi Yan nodded and said, "Of course, it's also possible that these guys were captured by the World Government and then escaped due to some unforeseen circumstances."

"Ha, the World Government really is no good," Zoro sneered.

Upon hearing this, Xi Yan shrugged and said, "We knew about this two years ago, didn't we?"

Having experienced so much, they already knew exactly what the World Government was all about.

Therefore, it's not wrong to say that World Government are not good things.

Just then, the Den Den Mushi in Xi Yan's arms suddenly rang.

"Pineapple pineapple pineapple~"

"Pineapple pineapple pineapple~"

"Pineapple pineapple pineapple~"

"Den Den Mushi?"

Usopp glanced at Xi Yan upon hearing the voice, then said in surprise, "You still have Den Den Mushi?"

Of course.

Xi Yan nodded and said, "Having Den Den Mushi makes it easier to contact other people."

"It must be Nami and the others calling," Nico Robin guessed.

After all, they've been here for a while now, so it's perfectly normal to call and ask about their situation.

"It's most likely them."

Xi Yan nodded, then answered the Den Den Mushi in his hand.

"Kaga ~"

"You finally answered the phone..." Brook said with a sigh of relief.

"Brook?"

Perhaps sensing something was off about Brook's tone, Xi Yan frowned and asked, "Did something happen on your end?"

"Yes."

Brook said, "Nami and the others are gone."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Xi Yan and the others immediately changed.

"Gone?" Zoro asked. "Why did it disappear?"

Could it be that someone attacked Nami and the others after they left the Thousand Sunny?

"I don't know either."

Brook said helplessly, "I inexplicably fell asleep earlier and have no idea what happened."

"When I woke up, there were only a few guys in protective suits and gas masks around me, but I didn't see Nami and the others."

"Gas mask..."

Xi Yan frowned and said, "It seems someone secretly drugged you with something."

Could it have been those centaurs?

Thinking of this, Xi Yan turned his gaze to the Leopard Leg Man who was racing Luffy.

"Why wasn't Brook taken away?" Merry asked, puzzled.

"Once this guy lies down, he looks just like a normal skeleton, who would care?"

"Xi Yan, you've hurt me so much by saying that..." Brook said, sounding a little hurt.

What does it mean to say that nobody cares about a skeleton...?

Skeletons also need to be cared for!

"Stop talking nonsense and get to the point," Xi Yan said. "Go and ask those guys in protective suits where Nami and the others are."

"I'm afraid that won't work..."

"Why?"

"Because when I woke up, they suddenly attacked me, so I killed them all..." Brook said somewhat awkwardly.

So he had no way of finding out where Nami and the others had gone.

Xi Yan:...

That's incredibly fast.

"Looks like someone was watching us while we were on the phone," Nico Robin said, frowning.

"So that's how it is..." Usopp's expression changed, "This really is a trap!"

"That's how it is based on the current situation."

Upon hearing this, Usopp's expression immediately turned ugly.

This is really not good news.

"Can you tell where you are?" Xi Yan asked.

"Um..."

Brook looked around and said, "This place is covered in ice and snow; it must be an Ice Island."

"That's right across from us," Xi Yan said.

As he spoke, Xi Yan glanced at the other side of the riverbank, guessing that Nami and the others must have been taken there.

"I see." Brook said with a look of Satori realization, "No wonder Miss Nami said those things before, so the other side of Fire Island really is Ice Island."

"Amazing!"

How exactly did this amazing environment form?

Natural disasters?

Or was it caused by human intervention?

He's very curious!

"Go and check around for any strange buildings or figures," Nico Robin said.

"Let me see..."

Brook walked to the side of the ship, glanced into the distance, and then said, "Hmm, I can definitely see a huge building. It looks very magnificent!"

Okay, we understand.

Nico Robin nodded and said, "Wait for us over there for a moment, we'll be right there."

Now that we know our teammates have been captured and taken to the other side, there's nothing more to say.

Hurry over there and save them!

"Okay, I'll wait for you." Brook nodded, then coughed lightly and said, "Um... Miss Robin."

"Once you arrive, could I borrow your arm to take a look at Fatty...?"

"Kaga ~"

Looking at the Den Den Mushi whose call had been ended, Brook scratched his afro and said, "Looks like it won't work."

Well~

Let's talk about it later!

Yohohohoho~